Pure Cordyceps - The Only Cordyceps Available that is Grown Under Low Temperature - Low Oxygen Conditions, Just Like Nature!

Aloha Medicinals is the world's largest Cordyceps cultivator. Aloha Medicinals produces the Most Potent Cordyceps available, and the only commercially available cultivated Pure Cordyceps with a DNA profile exactly matching that of wild Cordyceps! Our quality makes the choice easy. Why not use the best? Aloha Medicinals Cordyceps is available from stock in any amount you require, either for your own use as a dietary supplement or in bulk as a raw material for use in your product!

Cordyceps History and Cultivation

Cordyceps has been used in China and Tibet. For at least a thousand years according to the written record. It has always been very highly regarded, but it has also been the most expensive herbal raw material in the world. This is because it only grows at high elevation in the Himalayas around Tibet and Nepal and in small border sections of India and China. The high altitude makes its collection difficult, and this rarity of Cordyceps has limited its use by the general public. The great demand and the limited supply act to drive the price up, sometimes to as much as $35,000 a pound! The scarcity and high price lead many people to try to cultivate Cordyceps like a normal farm product. But unlike the common button mushroom worldwide, Cordyceps proved to be extremely difficult to grow.

It was not until 1972 that the first successful Cordyceps cultivation was achieved. The first Cordyceps cultures were isolated by the Chinese Academy of Sciences in that year. These strains were not isolated from Tibet, where most of the top quality Cordyceps comes from, but rather they were isolated from specimens found in Qinghai province in Central China. Originally three different strains of Cordyceps were isolated. The first three strains, named CS-1, CS-2 and CS-3, did not have the fast growth characteristics that make commercial cultivation practical. It was the fourth culture that had been isolated by this institute, named CS-4, that was hardy and fast growing.

This CS-4 culture proved itself a good candidate for commercial growth, so it was evaluated as a substitute for wild Cordyceps. It was tested for its medical potential, and by 1988 it had been approved in China as a medicine under the name Jin Shui Bao. As part of the approval process to bring this to market, many clinical and safety trials were conducted showing its efficacy and safety. After more than 20 years of clinical observation, some of the results have been quite astounding.

Back in 1972 when CS-4 was isolated there was no such thing as DNA analysis. So at that time it was not realized that CS-4 contained only a part of the Cordyceps genome. CS-4 is closely related to Cordyceps , but it is not “true Cordyceps ”. The correct Latin name for CS-4 is Tolypocladium. This variation from Cordyceps is due to a unique feature of Cordyceps called “Part Spore Reproduction” This is a pretty complex subject, but anyone wishing a more detailed explanation of this phenomenon is encouraged to email our research department and we will be glad to give you the entire report detailing how Cordyceps reproduces and why it is so difficult to cultivate True Cordyceps. The email address to receive that report is research@alohamedicinals.com.

Modern Cordyceps Cultivation

Let’s jump ahead nearly 40 years and look at where Cordyceps cultivation is today: Aloha Medicinals set out to cultivate the most potent Cordyceps back in 1999. We started with the purchase of CS-4 cultures from private manufacturers in China. This was the first strain of Cordyceps we produced when the company was formed in 2000.

In 2001 we purchased another ten Cordyceps strains from the Government of China. But our research using DNA analysis and the most up-to-date analytical methods such as GC/MS and HPLC/MS showed that none of these “Cordyceps” strains were identical to wild Cordyceps. They were all related anamorphs, but they were not “True Cordyceps”. Since 2001 we have isolated over 400 different Cordyceps cultures from specimens purchased in herb stores and collected from the wild in Tibet and Nepal. We tried every possible combination of culture techniques and growth medium, but we realized that by using these part-spore cultures there was no way to gain the full potential which is known to occur in wild Cordyceps.

To achieve the wild Cordyceps quality requires a much more complex approach, involving the replication of the wild Cordyceps growth conditions between several part-spore cultures to achieve the full Cordyceps DNA sequence. This approach was so unique it was issued the only patent ever granted for the hybridization of mushrooms!

Even after we had developed these bio-identical cultures though, which were 100% Cordyceps in every way, there was still a problem: The Cordyceps being grown in cultivation was still not as potent as the wild collected Cordyceps. To try and resolve this problem, Aloha Medicinals scientists in 2006 undertook an expedition to central Tibet, the heartland of wild Cordyceps habitat. The scientific research expedition to studied the natural growth parameters of wild Cordyceps. Working with the local nomad people, we identified several hundred Cordyceps specimens growing directly from the ground. We carefully measured all the growth conditions there, such as pH, soil and air temperature and composition, moisture content in the air and soil, the other micro-organisms found in the area, air pressure and virtually everything else that could be measured, we did.

We brought this information back to the lab, and developed entirely new methods of cultivation, which have resulted in Cordyceps bio-identical in it’s analytical signature. Bringing the latest of 21st century American biotechnology to this field has resulted in a quantum leap in Cordyceps cultivation, reducing the cost and increasing the quality of cultivated Cordyceps. These cultivation methods involved building special growing chambers where the oxygen is held at 50% of the normal atmospheric oxygen. This replicates the conditions found during the growing season in Nepal and Tibet. This Low Temperature, Low Oxygen growth is also patented. Aloha Medicinals is the only company in the world that grows Cordyceps using these patented techniques.

In the course of developing these new strains of Cordyceps, we have made some fantastic discoveries: Aloha Medicinals has more than 700 other species of Cordyceps in our research department from all corners of the globe. Most of these have not yet been identified by science, and we are making new discoveries regarding their medicinal potential daily. We believe this pioneering work in the field of Cordyceps is changing the way modern health supplements will be researched and developed in the future.

Aloha Medicinals Cordyceps is 100% produced in America, in Health Department licensed and FDA Certified manufacturing facilities, and is made with organic cordyceps. It is simply the best Cordyceps available today. Why risk your health or your company’s reputation by using inferior Cordyceps substitutes when Aloha Medicinals Cordyceps Mycoproduct is available?

This Product Contains No Ingredients from China

Made with Organic Pure Cordyceps

Cordyceps Articles

"[PDF]Hybridization of Cordyceps and Analysis of Quality" - Article from the "International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms"

Cordyceps is a legendary natural medicine found in the Orient, which folklore claims is neither plant nor animal, and which is worth far more than its weight in gold. This narrative may sound like science fiction but it is now shown to be science fact. Amazingly, the myths about Cordyceps pale in comparison to the reality. It does qualify as both plant and animal because it is a mushroom that grows out of the head of a mummified caterpillar, to be collected by Tribesmen in the remote Himalayas. It is then sold in markets around the world for as much as $75,000 a kilo, far more than its weight in gold. This remarkable scenario first caught the attention of researchers in the 1990’s when they heard the news about the performances of the Chinese Women’s Track and Field team at the Chinese National Games in 1993.

bag of cordyceps

In this competition the women broke 9 world records by substantial margins. At first, governing sports authorities suspected that a performance-enhancing drug had been used and they stripped the women of their medals. However, when their coach came forward with the real story, their success was credited to Cordyceps and subsequent testing proved the women were indeed drug free. Researchers worldwide were fascinated by the possibility of locating such a powerful natural performance enhancer, and found that there was already considerable research from China, showing that Cordyceps increases ATP (Adenosine triphosphate) at the cellular level, and increases oxygen utilization by the body, resulting in an increase of useful energy of about 30%. This seemed to solve the controversy over the record-breaking athletes. Thinking there was something more to be learned about this rare botanical medicine, researchers from America mounted an expedition to Tibet to study this unusual creature in its native habitat. What they found was an amazing resource for health and well-being. Unfortunately, it’s also a victim of its own popularity, an economic powerhouse being driven to extinction in the middle of political upheaval. The harvesting of Cordyceps has accounted for more than 50% of the Tibetan economy for many years, but lately it has become harder and harder to find due to over harvesting and political oppression. The Tibetan nomads rely on the once-a-year harvest of Cordyceps to maintain their subsistence living, while the Chinese are striving to “modernize” their new territory of Tibet. Once the source of prosperity, Cordyceps is now causing deadly turf wars. Hopefully the Olympics this year will draw attention to the political impasse and a solution can be found, but for now, the 2008 collecting season saw the Chinese close all but 2 of 27 counties for Cordyceps gathering due to Tibetan nationalist unrest. This made for a bleak harvest for the Tibetans, and pushed the price of Cordyceps higher than ever.

Cordyceps has always been rare due to its remote habitat and the high demand for its medicinal properties. It has been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese and Tibetan Medicine for virility, fertility, liver and kidney disorders, lung problems, hyperlipidemia, weakness, fatigue, combating colds and flu, cough and phlegm, shortness of breath, bronchial discomfort, asthma, and for overall rejuvenation. In times past only the royalty of China could afford to use it. Now, with increasing interest from the rest of the world, over-harvesting of the wild stocks and subsequent shortage of wild specimens, many companies are starting to cultivate Cordyceps, bringing its price within reach of the average man or woman. While many have tried to cultivate it, few have succeeded in replicating the potency of the wild collected varieties. Only one company in America, Aloha Medicinals, has succeeded in growing Cordyceps under natural conditions of cold temperature and high altitude.

Their unique and patented process results in cultivated Cordyceps which is actually more potent and much more consistent than the wild collected variety, at only a fraction of the price of wild Cordyceps. There are many reasons besides price one may wish to avoid wild Cordyceps. The issue of counterfiting has become a serious matter for consumers, and contamination is also a grave concern. The practice of adulteration had traditionally involved a small bit of twig inserted into the caterpillars to improve appearance and also increase their weight. This may have been a relatively harmless practice, as long as the object inserted was from a nontoxic source. But modern collectors have found that more weight can be added if lead wire is used instead of twigs, turning a healthful product into a risky proposition. There have been numerous reports recently of lead poisoning from the consumption of wild Cordyceps. As the price climbs, the inventive sellers have also begun to make completely fake imitations out of painted bread dough and other materials. This has led many consumers to lose faith in the wild collected variety.

types of cordyceps

Many companies now produce artificially cultivated Cordyceps products, but there is wide variation in quality. With new advances in biotechnology this is rapidly changing. Aloha Medicinals grows Cordyceps in a laboratory environment exactly replicating the natural growth conditions of the wild (the high-altitude air composition and the low temperatures found on the high Himalayan plateau). The low temperature hypoxia cultivation process produces Cordyceps which duplicates and even surpasses the analytical profile of the active ingredients of wild Cordyceps. This makes Aloha Medicinals’ Cordyceps a realistic substitute for the much higher priced wild varieties. These unique cultivation protocols, coupled with the development of new strains and hybridization, are resulting in Cordyceps of unprecedented quality and consistency. In order to thwart the deceptive practices in the Cordyceps trade and insure authenticity and quality, Aloha Medicinals has also developed exacting standards for testing the quality of their product. These analytical methods have become the gold standard by which all Cordyceps is graded around the world today.

An analysis done by independent laboratories comparing wild Cordyceps and cultivated Cordyceps revealed that Aloha Medicinals’ laboratory-grown Cordyceps not only matched the chemical analysis of wild Cordyceps, but actually far exceeded the potency of its active ingredients! Aloha Medicinals’ innovative solutions to the high price and uncertain quality of this traditionally revered medicine has produced a body of research and resulting products that are pioneering the fusion of ancient knowledge and 21st century cutting edge technology. Aloha Medicinals’ patents on the techniques used to produce their super potent Cordyceps standard-ized the cultivation methods and the testing procedures for purity, efficacy and strain validity, so the quality of their super potent Cordyceps can be relied upon. Only controlled environment cultivation techniques can produce the targeted medicinally active compounds to meet the specific needs required for different applications. This is true not only for Cordyceps, but for all medicinal mushrooms cultivated today. Aloha Medicinals has used their proprietary Cordyceps in supplement formulas for all classes of use. Everyone from athletes to the elderly uses it to increase stamina and support immune health. Aloha Medicinals also manufactures Cordyceps derived animal health supplements, which are used extensively for racehorses and in pet health products.

cordyceps graph

The natural antibiotic potential of Cordyceps has met with great interest since the EU banned the use of antibiotics in the food chain in 2006, with other countries following suit. There is extensive research on beef and dairy farms successfully using Cordyceps as an anti-biotic replacement, and trials are underway in several countries for its use as antibiotic replacement for fish farming. It is revolutionizing the meat production industry in an organically acceptable manner, increasing animal health and the resulting quality of the finished products. Cordyceps is also being processed to ultra fine particle size, called Nanoparticles. These Nanoparticles remain in liquid suspension, making them ideal for the burgeoning health beverage market. As well, the pleasant nutty flavor of Cordyceps has drawn attention from health conscious candy manufacturers. Companies such as Aloha Medicinals are using modern technology to ensure the best properties of wild botanicals, long collected for their medicinal benefit, are available at reasonable prices for today and will remain available for our future generations. A winning combination for a sustainable future.